Hello,

We recently brought our RX to the dealer for oil service. They recommend replacing rear brake pads and resurface the brake motors. They quote for about $400. We took the vehicle to a local store and they quote for about half of the price. Is it worth having it done at the dealer? Anyone has any suggestion?

Thanks.

 

Welcome to Club Lexus. I see from your profile that your vehicle is a 2008 RX350. I would get a second opinion on the need for this brake service. No, you don't need to have Lexus do this. If you do expect to pay double.

My 2007 RX with 50K miles still has 6MM of pad remaining, front & rear. You don't need to replace pads until they read 2MM. Don't resurface the rotors unless absolutely necessary.

 

For the price of new rotors, it's not worth machining the old ones - just get brand new rotors. Don't forget, machining makes them thinner and then they'll be more prone to warping, which is sometimes why they need machining in the first place.

 

You owe it to yourself to find a reliable, Lexus trained independent to handle small stuff like brakes. I see you are in Texas. if you are anywhere near Dallas or Plano Davenport's is a good bunch. They have locations in Plano and on Inwood in Dallas. JP Importz is excellent as well, actually my favorite. They are in Garland. Jason is a meticulous craftsman but still comes in well under the dealer.

If you want to be treated like a king, get perfect service and not worry about a thing then Sewell Lexus is for you.

 

Thanks for the recommendations. I'm from Houston. Any recommendation on where to take? I'm thinking about letting Lexus do it because I really don't want to mess up with the brake system. We've put about 80K on the vehicle already. Maybe it's time to replace it. I don't feel any problem when stepping on the brake though. I would expect to have some vibration if the rotor has some problem. No?
Thanks.

 

Yes, you would have vibration in the brake pedal if your rotors needed to be turned due to warpage. Any such problem?

Any competent shop can work on your brakes without issue. Heck, I do mine all the time on the vehicles I own. Did the rear brakes some time back and it took me about 45 minutes from the time I walked out to the garage to the time I was washing my hands in the house. Rarely do I need to take it to the shop to turn the rotors. If you want to stick with a dealership you can try a local Toyota shop where the labor rate will be much less than the local Lexus shop. Will leave it to others here to say where in Houston you might go. Many Toyota shops have installed Express Service bays for quick oil changes and such without the need for appointments.

With 80K on your RX you are just getting started. Plenty of life left in it if you are happy with the vehicle. My 2004 RX330 has 85K on it. Why have another car payment if not needed, assuming the RX is paid off? The RX350 has a timing chain and not a timing belt, so no expense there. At 120K you will need to replace the spark plugs. The rest would just be fluid changes, tires and belts. One car payment would be enough to replace all the major fluids in your RX on a yearly basis. Another couple of payments gets you new tires for a few years. One more does your belts and plugs for another 120K.

 

Wow, that is a very thoughtful reply. Sorry for the confusion. I meant to say replace the pads and re-surface the rotors. No, I'm not ready for another car this time. Plus, the RX has been treating us well since day 1. The only problem we had so far was the battery died about two years ago and the dealer replaced it for free. I did not know about the timing chain. Great tips! I don't feel the vibration when I stepped on the brake as I mentioned earlier.
I hope some Houstonian can give me a recommendation on a local store to have a second opinion.
Thanks.

 

We had/have a poster called Htownblue who was/is extremely knowledgeable and is either a Lexus mech or has a shop. I would let him work on my car. You might PM or email him. I haven't seen him around for a while so use the email function if possible.